I have noticed that there doesn't seem to be as much inventory as there used to be. My local chain store used to be full to the brim on the shelves and the aisles were almost impassable with floor displays. Now it seems that there are limited numbers of items on the shelves and less choices and I can pass another cart just about anywhere that I please. Also prices have risen by 15-20% over the last year or so.


I work as a Vendor and go from store to store... Albertsons, Ralphs, food4less, stater-bros etc... They have a 'new' system of "on-demand" ordering. Where once they had extra inventory in the back room/receiving, now it's essentially empty with just one extra load per week. This looks better on the books. Many items are now "faced" with only a single row--nothing in the back. Their computer system keeps track of inventory trends and thus will not automatically order items that are minimally in stock. They literally have NOTHING in the back to stock. Night crew merchandisers will now usually consist of only 4 employees for general merchandise with the rest of the stocking burden being placed on the manufacturers that BUY shelf space---which is almost everyone...